RMTMN
by sakuraphoenix
Summary: Years have passed since the defeat of Phobos and Nerissa by the Guardians of the Veil, but trouble begins stirring once again. A new generation of guardians have been chosen not only to protect the veil, but to protect Earth. Co-written with Keybladeauraofpie
1. Prologue: A New Story Begins

Prologue: A New Story Begins

_**Howdy Folks, not sakuraphoenix here nope I am Keybladeauraofpie, I am here to give you a story with my dear friend sakuraphoenix and now here is the prologue for the story R.M.T.M.N.**_

_Long ago in Ancient times, a Land named Kandrakar was created by the four dragons of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air along with the nymph Xin Jing. Soon evil people wanted to control the land, and the Land of Kandrakar chose five brave women to protect the land and it's Heart from the evil of the universe. Using the elements given by the dragons as well the fifth element of quintessence these women will risk their lives in order to save the balance of the universe. This is the story of five of those women._


	2. It Begins and Resumes

Chapter 1: It Begins and Resumes

_**Yo, what's up? I'm sakuraphoenix, kicking it off with the first chapter! Keybladeauraofpie and I don't own W.I.T.C.H. Just our respective OC's. Enjoy the opening of this story!**_

_It was a normal spring day for a 13 year old and 14 year old girl. Their spring vacation had just begun, but for the 14 year old, her vacation wasn't beginning soon. The 14 year old had red hair and hazel eyes while the girl had dyed pink hair and brown eyes._

"Thanks for letting me stay over for the week while my parents are gone. After my interim, they wouldn't let me go with them on their trip." Said the red head

"No prob McKenna. Mom's on a business trip of her own and she won't be back until school starts again." Said the pink-haired girl

"And you promise to help me with my math and science grades?" asked McKenna

"So long as you promise to help me with my art project." Said the pink-haired girl

"You got a deal Naomi." Said McKenna

"Yeah, hang on a sec, gotta check the mail." Said Naomi

_She opened her mailbox and saw a package addressed for her._

"It's for me." Said Naomi

"What's inside?" asked McKenna

"Let's find out." Said Naomi

_Meanwhile in Kandrakar…_

_The Oracle was watching the events unfold in the world where McKenna and Naomi reside, where he senses the balance of power in Meridian has shifted._

"I sense that we need new Guardians of the Veil, and yet…" started the Oracle

"AH!" McKenna and Naomi screamed in unison

"Who put the water hose in the house?-!" exclaimed McKenna

"It wasn't me! Someone shut the water off!" exclaimed Naomi

_And suddenly the water from the sink stopped do to a sudden growth of plants._

"I am so calling a plumber when mom gets back. Since when do weeds grow in water pipes?" wondered Naomi

"Since when to drainage pipes spring up water?" asked McKenna

"Good point. Got the knife?" asked Naomi

"Ready to open the package." Said McKenna

_Together they opened it, only to reveal a replica of the Heart of Kandrakar._

"So two new Guardians of Water and Earth have been chosen." Said the Oracle

_In Heatherfield, one dimension away…_

_An elderly African-American woman was cleaning up the living room when she heard a shriek from the other room. That was when something in an old box began to glow fuchsia. A girl with bluish-black hair in two puffy pigtails wearing a graphic T-shirt, bangles around her wrists, a locket around her neck, and white jeans ran to the woman._

"Grandma! It's so strange! My alarm clock just started talking to me! And last I checked, alarm clocks don't talk for no reason." Said the girl

"Rene, I'm sure it's nothing and it's all in your head. You can invite your friends over after school today if you want to. Now, aren't you late for school?" asked the woman

"AH! I am! Thanks Grandma!" Rene exclaimed as she ran out the door

"So, it's begun again. New guardians have been chosen. Rene will become the keeper of the heart." Said the woman

_A fuchsia portal opened in front of her, and she took the heart and walked through, finding herself in Kandrakar._

"Sure brings back memories." Said the woman

"It has been a long time Taranee." Said a woman with long white hair

"Hey Corny. So you joined the council." Said Taranee

"Along with Hay Lin with her grandmother. Come in, the Oracle wants to talk with you." Said Cornelia

_The two friends walked into the room where the Oracle was residing._

"Taranee. I have identified two new Guardians of the Veil, and they'll be arriving very soon in your home." Said the Oracle

"How do you know?" asked Taranee

"Because they will be sent there through a portal that will open in about 10 minutes in their world. They are from a different world, but they have manifested the powers of Water and Earth. The red-haired girl named McKenna will eventually become the Guardian of Water while the pink-haired girl will become the Guardian of Earth." Said the Oracle

"Well, considering the fact that I'm still getting over the fact that my granddaughter will become the keeper of the heart, this is going to be a wild ride." Said Taranee

"What makes you think she is?" asked Cornelia

"Oh, no reason. Her alarm clock was talking this morning." Said Taranee

_Back with McKenna and Naomi…_

_They had just finished cleaning out the pipes to the sink and put the plug inside._

"How did plants grow in the tubes?" asked McKenna

"Don't look at me. I look like a grease monkey." Said Naomi

_Something blue flashed behind them and the replica Heart of Kandrakar began to glow._

"Um, does this thing have batteries?" asked Naomi

_A strong wind was created from the portal, which sucked the two of them, plus their school bags and a few changes of clothes, into Taranee's room. The sudden arrival of the duo shocked her at first, but she then calmed down._

"Where are we?" asked McKenna

"Someone's room." Answered Naomi

"Nice to see you two drop in." said Taranee

_McKenna and Naomi turned to see Taranee._

"Nice to meet you. My name's Taranee Cook." Said Taranee

"No way. You're one of the Guardians!" exclaimed Naomi

"Who?" asked McKenna

"Taranee Cook was one of the Guardians of the Veil, later one of the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions. There was Will Vandom, Irma Lair, Taranee Cook, Cornelia Hale, and Hay Lin." Said Naomi

"So, that spells witch? Whoa." Said McKenna

"So you know about the Guardians." Said Taranee

"Yeah, and I think this took us here." Said Naomi

_She revealed her replica Heart of Kandrakar._

"This looks like the Heart, but it can't be. I have it in the other room." Said Taranee

"It's not. It's supposed to be a replica." Said Naomi

"Anyhow, this afternoon, my granddaughter will bring two of her friends over. If my hunch is right, they'll be the new Guardians of Air and Fire." Said Taranee

_Lunch time at Sheffield…_

_Rene sat at the same table as two girls who were deep in conversation. One of the girls had her dark brown hair long, and was wearing a pair of ankle-high black boots, jeans, a purple tank top, and a short-sleeve jacket. The other girl was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a long skirt with boots and had part of her auburn hair covering her left eye._

"Hey, guess what. This morning, my alarm clock was talking to me." Said Rene

"Define 'talking'." Said the brown-haired girl

"By 'talking' Mei-Xing, it was like 'get up, you're late for school' and then it said 'don't make me go to the heavy metal station. I know you hate that stuff'. That's when I freaked." Said Rene

"Wow. And to think my room turned into a disaster zone after I sneezed today." Said Mei-Xing

"And the weirdest thing happened to me. After I got a 75 on my math test, I had wished to myself that it would just burn up and disappear, and poof. It burned up." Said the auburn-haired girl

"Wow, that's strange, even for you Tina. Anyhow, you guys wanna come over to my place today? My grandmother said it was okay." Said Rene

"You crazy grandmother Taranee?" asked Mei-Xing

"Well, yeah. But she's not that crazy." Said Rene

_After school…_

_Rene, Mei-Xing, and Tina arrived at her home. When they opened the door, they saw McKenna and Naomi in the doorway._

"Um, grandma, who are they?" asked Rene

"These are Naomi Jones and McKenna Kershaw. They're here on an exchange program. They came from the D.C. metro area." Said Taranee

"Like close to the Tidal Basin where the only Cherry Blossom trees in America are?" asked Mei-Xing

"Technically, they're called Sakura trees, but hey, who's being technical about it?" asked Naomi

_Rene, Tina, Taranee McKenna, and Mei-Xing laughed._

"Now I have something very important to show you five." Said Taranee

_Taranee pulled out the box with the Heart of Kandrakar inside it._

"This is the Heart of Kandrakar, and it has sensed that the new Guardians of the Veil have been chosen." Said Taranee

"Guardians of what?" asked Mei-Xing

"Guardians of the Veil. Naomi, I believe you've had some experience with the earth." Said Taranee

_She brought over a wilted plant, which Naomi made sprout to life again._

"McKenna, you have a talent with water." Said Taranee

_She created a water snake from the bowl of water in the middle of the table, but accidentally made everyone wet._

"Mei-Xing, I believe you've gotten some experience with air." Said Taranee

_She blew at a folded Chinese Paper Lantern, causing it to open up._

"Tina, may you light the candle over there please? Just be careful. It's a little scary at first." Said Taranee

_Tina pointed to the candle, and successfully lit it._

"And finally Rene, you've experienced the power of quintessence." Said Taranee

"Quin- what now?" asked Rene

"Quintessence. Basically, you've become every electronic device's best friend, AC or DC current." Said Taranee

"Guess that explains the talking alarm clock." Said Rene

"And the keeper of the heart also has the responsibility to keep the Heart of Kandrakar safe." Said Taranee

"So, in shorter words, we're the new Guardians of the Veil, and well, that means we have a huge responsibility on our heads?" asked Mei-Xing

_Taranee nodded her head._

"Wow. So much for average teenage troubles." Said Mei-Xing

_Meanwhile in Meridian…_

_The beautiful world, more like the former beautiful world of Meridian was under the watchful eye of its queen, and seemed to be on edge about something._

"Mom, are you in there?" asked a female voice

_A girl with platinum blond hair walked into the room. She was wearing a long dress that reached her ankles._

"Cornelia, what is it?" asked the Queen of Meridian

"Have you seen Caleb? He's not in the palace. The guards said that they haven't seen him since last night." Said Cornelia

"That is disturbing. For our sake, let's hope the Guardians didn't get him." Said the Queen of Meridian

"The Guardians? They're nothing but worthless old women now. They're as big as a threat as great-uncle Phobos was. But that's going to change one day, once all dimensions are ruled, nothing can stop me after my coronation." Said Cornelia

_On the outskirts of Meridian, a boy with brown hair was wearing a cloak and was carrying the royal family's seal with a small circlet inside a bag. He was walking towards the outskirts of the city when the alarm horn blared. He immediately started running for his life._

_In Heatherfield…_

_The new Guardians of the Veil were under the bridge, eager to practice their powers._

"Everyone ready?" asked Rene

_They all nodded._

"Guardians Unite." Rene said as she placed the Heart of Kandrakar around her neck

_Rene was suddenly lifted into the air and swirls of magic energy surrounded the others. They all emerged in their guardian attire._

"Water." Said McKenna

"Fire." Said Tina

"Earth." Said Naomi

"Air." Said Mei-Xing

"Quintessence." Said Rene

_Rene's hair didn't really change, but she was wearing a purple top with a piece of green cloth over her shirt. The collar of the shirt plunged to her chest and the sleeves were long with the part of the sleeves cut to give her arms more freedom to move around. There were two green ribbons that crisscrossed across her navel cavity as a hem, and the skirt was really wavy with the left side split. Her boots were dark purple and somewhat elf-like and had a long ribbon around her neck, which was green, and small wings. Mei-Xing was wearing a teal top that revealed her shoulders, but almost revealed her cleavage. Her sleeves reached halfway down her arm and the skirt had reached her ankles and was slit along the left side. Her boots were almost knee-length long and had a sort of bell shape to them. Her hair had become longer and was in a set of twin braids while the outfit was revealing her midriff with small wings. Naomi has a teal shirt that reveals her midriff with a sort of ribbon surrounding her arms. Her skirt is slit on the right side and reaches down to her ankles. Her boots are slightly longer than ankle-length, and are high-heeled with two straps that are there for deco. She's also wearing a teal choker with small wings. McKenna is wearing a two-colored mini-dress with the outer edges being teal and the inside purple. She's also wearing a choker with a four leaf clover on it with purple boots. Tina on the other hand was wearing a purple top that only covered her breasts with teal pants and sandals. Her hair was tied back, but everyone was shocked seeing the black eye Tina had._

"Tina, hey what happened?" asked Mei-Xing

"Where'd you get that black eye?" asked Rene

_Tina, in tears, flew away from the group only to fly head first into the boy from Meridian. Suddenly a group of guards appeared behind him._

"Sorry." Whispered the boy

_He then started attacking Tina as the others found her._

"Water!" exclaimed McKenna

_A strong stream of water pushed the guards back._

"Close the portal!" the boy exclaimed as he jumped into the portal

"The necklace!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

"Use the heart!" exclaimed Naomi

_Rene held up the heart to the portal, and it sealed shut, sending them and a bag flying backwards._

"Everyone okay?" asked Rene

"Yeah." Everyone said in unison

"Except for the fact the guy had something hard in his bag." Naomi said while rubbing the top of her head

_Back at Rene's house…_

_Taranee was looking at the black eye Tina had while Naomi and Mei-Xing were both drawing something._

"Now that's one serious black eye. What do you have, abusive parents or an abusive boyfriend?" asked Taranee

_When Tina wouldn't say, Taranee decided to find out for herself._

"Ouch, that's the kind of guy you hooked up with?" asked Taranee

"Huh? H-how'd… what…" stammered Tina

_Taranee was then beginning to catch her breath._

"Remind me never to do that again. Using telepathy really can take your breath away, or at least your life force." Said Taranee

"But seriously, I never imagined that Jacob would do that." Said Mei-Xing

"Well, I know one thing, if I see this 'Jacob' dude, he's so getting a piece of my mind." Said Naomi

"But… but he said…" started Tina

"Let me guess, if you told anyone, he would hurt you, big time. I went through too many ABF's for my own good." Said McKenna

"ABF?" asked Tina

"Her way of saying 'abusive boyfriend'. Anyhow, the drawing's done." Said Mei-Xing

_Mei-Xing and Naomi showed the drawing to Taranee_

"That is one of the heir's to Meridian throne, Prince Caleb." Said Taranee

"He's kinda cute for a prince." Said Mei-Xing

"Well it explains the crown and the weird seal in his bag." Said Naomi

"The veil was put up again because of his sister, Princess Cornelia. The crown in the bag would've been used in her coronation." Said Taranee

"Great, stop a psycho princess, and do the job. Sounds normal, not!" exclaimed Naomi

"There will be many obstacles along the way, but I think we need to deal with Tina's ABF first." Said Taranee

"Don't worry, we're gonna be there for you. After all, we're friends, right?" asked McKenna

"Y-yeah." Said Tina

"Hey guys, guess what I figured out our names spell!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

_On a napkin, the initials R.M.T.M.N. were spelled out._

"Hmm… I like it." Said McKenna

"Well, I guess this means we're officially R.M.T.M.N." said Rene

_And the start of a bigger adventure to come._

_Back in Meridian…_

_Caleb just walked through the castle doors._

"Caleb! You're alright. What happened to you? You're soaking wet." Said the queen

"I was attacked by the Guardians." Said Caleb

"The Guardians are nothing but old women now." Said Cornelia

"Not anymore Cornelia. They're young women, teenage girls. New Guardians have been chosen." Said Caleb

"So the cycle begins again, and now we have more trouble." Said the queen


	3. The Power of Five

Chapter 2: The Power of Five

_**Howdy people! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! As I said last time, Keybladeauraofpie with working with me on this one, so just bear with me! Anyway, disclaimer time!**_

_**Disclaimer: We do not own W.I.T.C.H. I own Naomi, McKenna, and Mei-Xing while Keybladeauraofpie owns Rene and Tina.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_One day has passed since the girls first successfully transformed into guardians, and now they were hanging out at Rene's house. Taranee provided rooms for McKenna and Naomi when the doorbell rang. When Rene opened the door, she was shocked to see her school principal._

"Principal Vandom! Wh-what are you doing here?" asked Rene

"Will! I'm so glad you came." Said Taranee

"Nice to see you Taranee, and to answer your question Rene, I'm not making a house call." Said Will

"Please, come in." said Rene

"You called me over about something, and it seemed urgent. You also mentioned 'The Guardians'." Said Will

"Grandma?" wondered Rene

"Relax, Will was the last keeper of the heart before you." Said Taranee

_Rene breathed a sigh of relief._

"Thank goodness. I was about to have a heart attack." Said Rene

"SAY WHAT?!" Mei-Xing shrieked from the other room

"I'll check on that." Said Rene

_Rene quickly ran over to her room where she saw Mei-Xing, McKenna, and Naomi with shocked looks on their faces and Tina with a sad look on hers._

"Yeah, it's true." Said Tina

"Back up. I'm lost. Rene Parker is lost. What's going on?" asked Rene

"Tina has a date with the ABF." Said McKenna

"Say what?!" exclaimed Rene

"That's what I said!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

"More like shrieked." Commented Naomi

"What do we do?" asked Mei-Xing

"We could tag along, you know, to make sure everything's okay." Said Rene

"But…" started Tina

"Hey, he doesn't have to know that we know you know what." Said Mei-Xing

"O-okay." Said Tina

"So, where is this so-called date?" asked Naomi

_A ten minute walk later…_

"A department store?" asked Naomi

"It's kinda like a mini-mall, sorta. This department store is named 'Hale's'. It's run by an old friend of grandma's, Cornelia." Said Rene

"I wonder if that's where Princess Evil's name comes from." Said McKenna

"If it is, someone has a sick sense of humor." Said Naomi

"We'll just keep a safe distance, that way we can keep an eye on you while not worrying about Jacob doing something stupid." Said Mei-Xing

"And McKenna and I will go up close and personal since Jacob hasn't met us yet." Said Naomi

"Th-thanks, but…" started Tina

"Here he comes." Said Rene

"Good luck." Said Naomi

_They quickly hid themselves as Jacob walked up to Tina. He was a tall male with tan skin, and a lot of muscle. He had black hair and black eyes and wore only a t-shirt and jeans._

"Glad to see you made it sweet stuff." Said Jacob

"Y-yeah." Said Tina

_Naomi held back the urge to gag. Jacob and Tina immediately began walking inside the department store, and Naomi followed them first. Mei-Xing followed after her and while Naomi kept Tina in her sight, Mei-Xing was sure to keep Tina in her line of sight, but out of Jacob's. They first went to a place named 'Earthly Tones'. The store was well-known for their 100 percent cotton clothing, though some of the clothes were made with locally grown fibers. It looked like they were shopping, but upon closer inspection, it was Jacob trying to find clothes for Tina, who was obviously not happy with the selections, and Jacob didn't seem to like the clothes offered, so they moved onto the store. McKenna was waiting for Jacob and Tina to leave the store and followed them into Candle. Candle had plenty of warm clothes that blended in nicely with practically anything you wear. Jacob still didn't find anything in this place, so they moved onto the next place. Mei-Xing then switched out with Rene, who followed them into Breeze. Breeze had a lot of clothes with flowing styles, playful patterns and colors, and also had a bit of an Eastern Asian feel to them. Jacob and Tina quickly moved onto another store, and Naomi replaced McKenna this time around. The store they went into was Splash. It was a store that sold clothing with lots of bold colors and blacks that seemed to let people know that you're there and you take charge of you. They left and all four of them entered Bind. It was a store with clothes that have normal colors and styles that seemed to fit with other styles. They then followed Jacob and Tina into the food court. Rene, Naomi, McKenna, and Mei-Xing ordered their food after they saw Tina and Jacob order theirs._

"So far, nothing." Said Rene

"Except that he's more than an abusive boyfriend." Said Naomi

"Yeah. He's an ACFBF." Said McKenna

"Huh?" Rene and Mei-Xing wondered in unison

"Abusive control freak boyfriend." Translated Naomi

"Oh." Rene and Mei-Xing said in unison

"Anyway, not to sound like Captain Oblivious here, but you said that an old friend of your grandmother's runs this place?" asked McKenna

"Yeah, Cornelia Hale and her husband Caleb." Said Rene

"Okay, Princess Evil and her brother have the same name as the owners of this joint? That is so not a coincidence." Said Mei-Xing

"I'm thinking the exact same thing. Maybe Cornelia was a Guardian before we became the new Guardians." Said Rene

"Seems likely." Said Naomi

_Just as soon as they finished their lunch, they weren't feeling so good, stomach wise._

"I don't feel too great." Said McKenna

"Same here." Said Mei-Xing

_All four of them immediately ran for the bathroom, leaving Tina alone with Jacob._

"So sweet stuff, I want you to come with me." Said Jacob

"Where are we going?" asked Tina

"You'll see." Said Jacob

_Tina was forced to follow Jacob to an alley, where no one was around._

"What are you doing?" asked Tina

"Making you mine sweet stuff." Jacob said as he pulled out a pocket knife

_Tina began backing away in fear, but soon got cornered between a wall and him. He was about to use the knife when Tina accidentally burned the metal of the pocket knife, causing him to drop it. Before he could figure out what just happened, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and when he turned around, he was slapped so hard, he was knocked unconscious… by a vine._

"You okay?" asked Naomi

_The girls, now in their guardian attire, landed right next to Tina._

"How did you find me? And where did you go?" asked Tina

"Bathroom. Our lunch didn't agree with our stomachs." Said McKenna

"Thankfully, one of the security cameras in the area helped by recording what happened and is sending it to Principal Vandom right now." Said Rene

"But…" started Tina

"It's okay, she was the old keeper of the heart before me. She'll understand why we had to use our powers." Said Rene

"But, uh, do you guys think we could ditch the outfits? We don't want to be caught on some alien conspiracy site." Said Mei-Xing

_Rene pulled out the heart and immediately changed the others back._

"Come on, we're going to help you get some real shopping done." Said Mei-Xing

_They all went back inside and went inside Candle. They were looking around when Naomi and Rene found a dress with matching shoes for Tina. She went into the dressing room and tried it on. When she came back outside, the others gave their approval over the dress. It was an strapless orange dress with a red wrap around the waist and red detached sleeves and low heeled shoes with a rose. They immediately bought the dress and headed out of the store._

"Thanks for the dress. I kinda feel bad that you guys bought something for me and you guys didn't get anything." Said Tina

"Actually, I kinda got some dresses for you guys as well, after we took care of the jerk, of course." Mei-Xing sheepishly admitted

"You didn't have to Mei-Xing." Said Naomi

"Actually I wanted to." Said Mei-Xing

"Anyway, let's head back to my place. I'm sure grandma is looking for an explanation." Said Rene

_Back at Rene's house…_

_Will and Taranee weren't mad about the fact that they had to Guardian up to save Tina, rather, they weren't mad at the girls. They were mad at Jacob._

"Good thing I'm the principal. I'm so going to have a word with him after the weekend." Said Will

"And then I'm gonna have a word with his parents!" exclaimed Taranee

"Guys, seriously, I'm okay now." Said Tina

"That what I said after I broke up with my ABF. It took a punch to Naomi's jaw to get him into trouble." Said McKenna

"What?!" Mei-Xing, Tina, and Rene exclaimed in unison

"Yeah, the jackass punched me in the face. Left a bruise there for a while." Naomi said while subconsciously rubbing her right cheek

"And you didn't fight back?" asked Rene

"I have a perfect academic record. I'm not going to ruin it by fighting back when I didn't need to do it physically." Said Naomi

"Smart thinking." Said Will

"It may take a while, but as long as you five stick together, you can weather through anything." Taranee said as both the Heart of Kandrakar and Naomi's Heart replica began glowing their respective colors

_**Done! Whew, this one took a while, but I'm finally finished! Please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Happy Holidays!**_


	4. Bonds of Friendship

Chapter 3: Bonds of Friendship

_**What's up everyone? It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I know, it's been a while, but don't kill me, okay? I've had a lot of stuff going on in my life, but thankfully they've died down enough for me to finally update! Anyway, disclaimer time.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. As you already know, Keybladeauraofpie is co-authoring this with me, and we only own our respective OCs.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_As the weekend had come and gone, the girls, minus Tina were in Will's office, who had called them over that same morning._

"Right, first things first, about Jacob. Thankfully, the camera edited out the image of you girls going guardian and the vine you used to knock him out Naomi." Said Will

_Naomi laughed nervously._

"Well it was either that or a plank of wood." Naomi said before laughing nervously again

"Still, I've talked to his parents, and they are furious! Court case also happened yesterday. Something like this couldn't wait. The judge decided that Jacob would be put in juvenile prison for three months." Said Will

"That's three months without him walking around in the school. Bonus!" exclaimed McKenna

"Tina would love to hear that news." Said Rene

"Speaking of, where is she? I assumed that she would be with you this morning." Said Will

"Even we have no idea Principal Vandom." Said Mei-Xing

"Please, when we're in private, you can call me Will, and tell Tina the news when you see her." Said Will

"We will." Said Rene

"Before I forget, Naomi, McKenna, here are your schedules." Said Will

"Thank you." Said Naomi

"And it looks like we have Biology. Ugh. I hate biology." Said McKenna

"I like it. Maybe it's because I had a different teacher." Said Naomi

"Maybe." Sighed McKenna

"That's a coincidence, Mei-Xing, Tina, and I have that class next too. We can take you there." Said Rene

"Thanks Rene." Said Naomi

_As soon as McKenna and Naomi had walked into their new classroom, they saw Tina walk in, or at least, someone who looked like Tina. She was wearing a black T-shirt with a short-sleeved leather jacket, fishnet gloves, a plaid mini-skirt, fishnet stockings, a studded belt, and combat boots. If that wasn't enough, you should've seen her hair! It was in a Mohawk, dyed pink, and she was wearing black eye shadow and eyeliner. Some of the boys' jaws dropped at the sight of her while the Guardians were staring shocked._

"Didn't you used to be Tina?" asked one of the boys

"I did not see that coming." Said McKenna

"Neither did I." said Rene

_The teacher then came in and saw Tina's new outfit._

"Tina, are you alright?" asked the teacher

"Yeah, total success ma'am." Said Tina

"Right… before we begin class, I have been informed by Principal Vandom that we have two new students joining our class." The teacher said before motioning to Naomi and McKenna

"Some things don't ever stay the same, don't they?" McKenna whispered to Naomi

_Naomi just chuckled a bit before nodding her head._

_Later…_

_The girls were in the Sheffield cafeteria, and they just found Tina who had just grabbed her lunch._

"Hey, what's the deal?" asked Tina

"Who are you and what did you do to Tina?" asked Rene

"And where's your black eye?" asked Mei-Xing

"Cover-up, okay? It's not like we have healing powers to use on bruises." Tina said as she puffed her cheeks

"We're not accusing you of doing anything wrong, but we are wondering what's with the getup." Naomi said while she started eating her nachos

"After what happened on Saturday, I realized that I couldn't ask for help forever, and this image is what I needed to help me out with that. I need to be stronger, like you guys. I can't stay this way." Said Tina

"We're not trying to hurt you or anything. We're your friends." Said Rene

"Yeah, and we're guardians! You know, I never asked to be the Guardian of Fire. All fire does is destroy, and that's exactly what I've done! My parent's marriage, then my well-being, and then that scar I left on Jacob's hand. I'm done with the destruction! I just want it to stop!" Tina exclaimed as she stormed away

_Unknown to the guardians, the Heart of Kandrakar's glow was weakening while the replica Heart was glowing red, concerned for the guardian of fire._

_In Meridian…_

_Cornelia was searching practically every inch of the castle twenty times over._

"It's not here!" exclaimed Cornelia

"What's the matter Corny? Lose your hairbrush?" asked Caleb

"Very funny little brother. My coronation's in two weeks, and I can't find the crown that's going to be used!" exclaimed Cornelia

"Oh yeah, I sent it to the metal smith to get it fixed after mom complained about it. It was in my bag. I guess I forgot to take it out." Said Caleb

_Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief._

"Let's go get it then." Said Cornelia

_They went to Caleb's room, where they searched for Caleb's bag._

"Uh-oh." Said Caleb

"What is it now?" asked Cornelia

"I may have dropped it on Earth." Said Caleb

"You what?!" exclaimed Cornelia

"It was an accident sis!" exclaimed Caleb

"Fine. I'm sending the Tracker to find my crown. That dog of his should be able to sniff out your scent." Cornelia said as she exited Caleb's room

_Caleb then wrote something down on a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball and threw it out the window. It then traveled down into the town of Meridian, where a girl with platinum blond hair, brown eyes, wearing regular Meridian clothes found it. She opened the note, and read it, and was shocked. She then walked around the market place._

"Has anyone seen a Passling with a bright red tunic?" the girl asked

_They pointed to the small, green Passling who was attempting to sell goods._

"Hey." Said the girl

"AH! Don't hurt Blunk." Said the Passling

"Blunk, it's just me." Said the girl

"Harmony!" exclaimed Blunk

"Listen, you need to go to Earth and find the new guardians. Princess Cornelia's on the move. She's going to send the Tracker to find her crown. You know, what she smells like, right?" asked Harmony

"I forgot." Said Blunk

"Good thing I work as a maid part time in the palace. One of her hair ribbons should do the job, but just in case, this is one of Prince Caleb's hairs." Harmony said while holding a red ribbon and a vial with a hair inside

"Hey, you two!" exclaimed a guard

"What is it?" Harmony asked while hiding the ribbon and vial

"Come with us, we have some questions for you, involving the resistance." Said the guard

"Resistance, no. Run, yes!" exclaimed Blunk

_Harmony and Blunk ran through the streets of Meridian trying to outrun the guards when Blunk stopped for a minute._

"This is no time to stop!" exclaimed Harmony

"Blunk smell something new. Something strange. May be portal." Said Blunk

_Harmony and Blunk resumed running to the outskirts of town where they saw a portal open in front of a waterfall._

"Grab onto me." Said Harmony

_She swung through the portal and landed in Taranee's bedroom just as Rene sealed the portal shut._

"That was too close." Said Harmony

"Where are we?" wondered Blunk

"Great, Blunk, is that you?" Taranee asked while holding the Passling in the air

"Blunk Jr. yes. Have we met before?" asked Blunk

"Great, so Blunk had kids." Taranee groaned

"Yeah, and whatever that is stinks!" Tina exclaimed as she pinched her nose

"No arguments there." Said Taranee

_She locked Blunk in the bathroom with McKenna and Naomi, where they heard the sounds of water splashing around and screaming before Naomi opened the door to reveal a sweet-smelling Passling._

"Much better." Said Rene

"So, you two are from Meridian." Said Taranee

"Yeah, and I was sent by the leader of the Resistance to find the new guardians and warn them." Said Harmony

"Well, that's us. The new Guardians." Said Mei-Xing

"So, what's the warning?" asked Naomi

"Prove it. I don't want to be facing her spies." Said Harmony

_Rene then held the heart as the girls each demonstrated their powers._

"Happy now?" asked Rene

"Yes. Princess Cornelia's lost her crown, the one that's going to be used in her coronation, and she's sending the Tracker to Earth to find it. I'd go back to Meridian to tell the rest of the Resistance, but with the guards after me now, it's too dangerous." Said Harmony

"Looks like we have a roommate." Said Naomi

"But if the Tracker's coming for Princess Cornelia's crown, he's probably going to be sniffing out Prince Caleb's bag. We need to make a fake crown to put in there that looks like the original." Said Taranee

"Leave that to me! Just get me some air-dry clay and a little fire power from Tina, and we'll be good to go!" exclaimed Naomi

"Forget it. I'd rather just give them an old sculpture." Said Tina

"It's either you helping out with the heating, or we're all going into Meridian jail." Said Harmony

"And believe me, that's not something you want to get into. I've seen the cells." Said Taranee

"Alright, alright, alright! I'll help." Said Tina

_Thankfully for Naomi, Taranee had plenty of air-dry clay and paints for Naomi to use. Naomi got started on making the crown, and as she was making the final details, she noticed that she made a small rune with Tina's symbol, but part of it was wrong and stuff. Naomi quickly put the rune back with the rest of the clay, and finished the crown._

"Alright, it wasn't easy, but I did it, down to the detail." Said Naomi

"Same size, same weight." Harmony noted

"Time to let it dry." Said Tina

_She hovered her hand over the crown, and it instantly dried._

"Now to paint it. Mei-Xing, I believe this is our department." Said Naomi

_Mei-Xing grabbed a paintbrush, and began to work. It took a few minutes, but they finished working on the crown._

"I'll take care of the paint." Tina said

_Using her fire powers, she managed to dry the paint. Just then, Blunk sniffed something._

"Uh-oh. Tracker! He here! On Earth!" exclaimed Blunk

"Right, come on girls, we're going to give him the Guardian welcome." Said Rene

"And we'll set the bait." Mei-Xing said as she held Caleb's bag with the fake crown inside

"Well count me out! No way am I going to help out in this time and place. Sorry, but you can forget it." Said Tina

"But Tina…" started Rene

"We'll have to go without her. The sooner the Tracker's back in Meridian, the better I'll feel." Said McKenna

_A reluctant Mei-Xing, Rene, and Naomi left Taranee's house._

"Why don't you want to help them? You're a guardian too you know." Said Harmony

"That's my personal business. I don't care about what happens to them. I just want all of this to stop." Said Tina

"And having an attitude problem isn't going to solve it. There's a reason why the resistance is against Cornelia, because she's more concerned about herself than her people. I put myself in harm's way every day by working in the palace just to get information to the Resistance. Believe me, what I deal with… no, what the people of Meridian deal with every day doesn't compare with what you're going through now. I don't know what happened, and I'm not going to pretend to know, the fact is, you're a guardian, and the others need you." Said Harmony

"You're right. Thank you Harmony. Let's find them." Said Tina

"Blunk lead way to Tracker." Said Blunk

"Thanks Blunk." Said Harmony

_Meanwhile…_

_The girls had just found the tracker._

"Well, there he is. Guardians, Unite!" exclaimed Rene

_She was lifted up into the air as swirls of light green, blue, and light blue surrounded the girls._

"Water." Said McKenna

"Earth." Said Naomi

"Air." Said Mei-Xing

"Quintessence." Said Rene

_The Tracker looked up and saw the girls in the air, and was poised to strike._

"I got this one. Water!" exclaimed McKenna

_She sent a stream of water at him, but all that did was send him back a few meters._

"Barely any effect!" exclaimed McKenna

"Let me try! Earth!" exclaimed Naomi

_The Tracker was wrapped in vines but quickly broke free._

"My shot. Air!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

_He was then caught in a whirlwind, but that didn't last very long. The girls were about to be in trouble until Tina, on a bike, knocked the Tracker off his feet and the Heart began to glow brighter._

"Alone, we're five… but together we're one. Guardian, Unite!" exclaimed Rene

_A swirl of orange magic surrounded Tina_

"Fire." Said Tina

"Tina, let's send the Tracker back where he belongs." Said Rene

"Got it. Fire!" exclaimed Tina

_She kept throwing fireballs at the Tracker until he was on the other side of the portal. Unfortunately, the dog got Caleb's bag, but Rene managed to seal the portal._

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting guys, really. It's just… after what almost happened, I just got scared and…" started Tina

"Hey, it's okay. McKenna and I may not know you very well, but you're still our friend Tina, and friends help each other out." Said Naomi

"I know, and thanks for forgiving me." Said Tina

"No sweat. Now we're going to give you a complete makeover, starting with that black eye." Said Naomi

_A while later, back at Taranee's house, Harmony had her hand over Tina's black eye and in a few moments, had completely healed._

"There we go." Said Harmony

"How did you do that?" asked Tina

"I'm not sure. I've had these powers for as long as I can remember." Harmony sheepishly admitted

"Still, that's one less thing to worry about. Think you can stay here for the night?" asked Rene

"You'll let me?" asked Harmony

"It'll lure the guards away, that's for sure." Said Taranee

"Thank you." Said Harmony

"Right, back to business. It's time for a makeover, guardian style, starting with you Tina." Naomi said while holding some clothes

_Rene and Naomi took Tina into the other room. A few minutes later, Tina's hair was now guardian style, and the strands of hair were held in place by some bobby pins. She was now wearing a red shirt with rhinestones forming a heart, a blue skirt, a bracelet with a fake ruby, and black boots._

"You got my approval." Said McKenna

"Mine too." Said Mei-Xing

"Same." Said Taranee

"Yeah. That's pretty for Earth fashion." Said Harmony

"Thanks. I wonder how long it's gonna take for Princess Corny to figure out her crown's a fake?" asked Tina

"I don't know, but when she does, we'll have the last laugh." Said Rene

_Back in Meridian…_

_Cornelia just placed the fake crown in the safe._

"It won't be long now until the coronation. I can hardly wait." Said Cornelia

_All Caleb did was look at the crown after Cornelia left. When he did, he made a discovery._

"It's a fake." Said Caleb

_**Ooh, Caleb knows, and Princess Evil doesn't. How will this play out for the guardians? Only time will tell. Please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Guo nian hao! Happy Chinese New Year!**_


	5. Trying to Fit In

Chapter 4: Trying to Fit In

_**Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I know, it's been a long time, and I should have an excuse for not updating for so long. My only excuse is that my AP exams had just finally passed, and now I'm trying to make up for lost time. Anyway, disclaimer time.**_

_**Disclaimer: Keybladeauraofpie and I do not own W.I.T.C.H., just our OC's.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_It was a bright sunny day in Heatherfield, the sun was shining, the birds were singing... and Taranee's bedroom was a mess for some weird reason with clothes flying out the closet with Harmony eyeing some of the clothes. Harmony recently had her hair cut, so now it was in a short bob._

"These should do the trick, at least until I can find some better clothes." said Harmony

_She then got dressed in a floral patterned dress, a dark pink cardigan, white stockings, low-heeled maroon shoes, and a pink sunhat with a pink ribbon. The girls then entered the room, with shock written on their faces._

"Uh, what exactly are you wearing?" asked Naomi

"Well, I didn't want to take your clothes, so I thought I could borrow a few from Taranee's closet before I can get my own." said Harmony

"Well, we better do it fast. We don't want her to see this one." said Mei-Xing

"I agree." said Rene

"Who?" Naomi and McKenna asked in unison

_All six of them then began walking to Sheffield._

"Stacy St. Beaumount. She's the most popular girl on campus with her blonde hair and blue eyes, plus she's super rich. She wears designer clothes..." started Mei-Xing

"Has almost every single guy in the school after her..." started Tina

"And drenches herself in nasty, stinky perfume, and I'm... ah-choo! Excuse me." said Rene

"It's cool." said McKenna

"And is just me, or do I smell cheap, tacky, perfume only an idiot or a little girl would wear?" Naomi asked while plugging her nose

"Oh no." Mei-Xing and Tina said in unison

_They then hurried to get inside the school but stopped when they saw Stacy in front of them._

"Oh, look who it is, the loser brigade. Showing around the new girls? Typical. You three can never mind your own business. And who's the loser in grandma clothes, huh?" Stacy asked while pointing to Harmony

_Harmony clearly was having trouble to say something when Naomi began coughing and wheezing with her face turning blue._

"Hey, you okay?" asked Tina

"Looks bad. We'll take her to the nurse's office." said Rene

_They hurried inside the school and didn't stop until they were out of her sight, when Naomi pulled out an inhaler._

"You have asthma?" asked Mei-Xing

"Yeah. It's normally triggered through exercise, but too much perfume or spray-on deodorant does the trick too." said Naomi

"Wow. Now we have to get Harmony here registered." said Tina

_In Will's office..._

_The guardians had just finished explaining everything about Harmony, even explaining to Harmony that Will was the old keeper of the heart._

"Okay, her cover story is that she's an exchange student and is here to study at Sheffield for the rest of the year, and she'll be sharing the same schedule as Rene." Said Will

"Thank you so much ma'am." Said Harmony

"Please, call me Will and class will begin in a few minutes. Here's a note you should show the teachers." Will said while handing Harmony a piece of paper

"Thanks again." Said Harmony

_The girls immediately left for their first period, and Harmony sat next to Tina. Unfortunately, Stacy walked into the classroom._

"Well, well, it's the loser brigade again. So, you never mention your name grandma." Said Stacy

_Harmony was about to say something when Naomi walked between her and Stacy._

"What do you want?" asked Stacy

"Right now, I really want to show you a piece of my mind, but I'm gonna keep my cool, and tell you some words of advice. Just because you're Miss Popularity doesn't mean you keep rubbing it around in other people's faces. So what if they're not in the clique or in your cool book prissy, facts are facts, and you should leave people alone. By the way, you stink, both literally and figuratively." Naomi said before walking back to her desk

_A very pissed off Stacy was about to say something when the teacher walked in._

"Okay everyone, take your seats. Today's lab day, but instead of the usual pairings, I'm going to pick your partners. Tina Burke, you'll be working with the new student, Harmony Patterson. Mei-Xing Yue, you'll be teamed up with Setsuna Miki. Naomi Jones, Ian Thompson. Rene Parker, Stacy Beaumount…" started the teacher

_Practically everyone wasn't very happy with the pairings. By the time the teacher had finished announcing the pairings, everyone was with their partners for the lab._

"Naomi, right?" asked Ian

"Yeah?" asked Naomi

"You had a lot of guts to stand up to Stacy; I'll give you some credit. Not a lot of people are brave enough to stand up to her." Said Ian

"Well, call me the rare two percent that's not scared to speak her mind then." Said Naomi

_Ian chuckled before he got the lab equipment; while Stacy looked at Naomi and mouthed to her 'You're dead.' Naomi then mouthed back 'With what army? Your perfume?'_

_Later that day…_

"Naomi, thank you so much for helping me this morning." Said Harmony

"Eh, no prob. I was bullied a lot when I was a kid at school. I had to learn how to defend myself." Said Naomi

"In any case, Stacy's not happy with you. At this rate, the whole cheerleading squad is going to beat you up." Said Rene

"With what? Tacky, smelling perfume that smells like fish?" asked Naomi

"No, that's what she's going to put in your locker. She's a stuck-up, spoiled brat, who can't even take a C without bribing the teachers to boost her grades. She's a spoiled, rich, overdressed, fakey-fakey, poser-poser…" Rene started

_Everyone at the table then motioned for Rene to be quiet for a moment._

"She's behind me, isn't she?" asked Rene

_Everyone nodded as Rene turned around to face Stacy._

"So you told the new girl with the bad dye job all of that stuff she told me?" asked Stacy

"Actually…" started Rene

"Actually whatever. Forget the new girl, you and me, this afternoon. Be there." Stacy said before storming off

"If you ask me, she's got a brain the size of a cricket." Said McKenna

"What do we do?" asked Rene

"I'd say don't show." Said Tina

"Second." Said Mei-Xing

"I'd say distraction." Said Harmony

"How?" everyone asked in unison

"We make it rain." Said Harmony

_Later…_

"Okay, this is a bad idea. How are we going to get the sprinklers working?" asked Tina

"Without going guardian to boot?" asked McKenna

"We just need to find the T-bar for the sprinkler valve." Said Rene

"And do we know where the janitor keeps it?" asked Naomi

"And how are we going to pick the lock for it?" asked Tina

"And please tell me you have a plan for all of it." Said Mei-Xing

"Yes, no, and hopefully." Said Rene

_Everyone groaned while Naomi face-palmed herself._

"Naomi! What are you doing here?" asked a male voice

_Naomi turned to face Ian._

"I could say the same for you." Said Naomi

"I wanted to play a prank on the cheerleaders, by activating the sprinklers." Said Ian

"Ian, do you know where to even find the valve to activate them?" asked Naomi

"Yeah, and I can get in." said Ian

"Okay, how's this, you get the valve, for the prank, soak Stacy's posse, and I will write the entire lab report for the lab we did in class today, all typed, no questions asked." Said Naomi

"Deal." Said Ian

_He ran to the janitor's shack, and got the T-bar, and put it in the valve. A team of Ian and Rene turned on the sprinklers, soaking the cheerleaders. Everyone laughed at the scene._

"Come on, grandma's waiting, but before we go home, why don't we stop at Hale's? We could use the trip." Said Rene

"Sure." Everyone else said in unison, minus Ian

"And I will type up the report tonight, like I promised." Said Naomi

"Got it. See you tomorrow." Ian said before running inside the school

"Do you like him?" asked McKenna

"Nah. Not my type. Besides, a deal's a deal after all." Said Naomi

_Harmony didn't seem to think that she would belong in Heatherfield, so while the others were getting their things, she wished she could go home to Meridian, when she suddenly fell backwards through a portal she created, and into mud._

"Okay, new power: creating portals. Ugh, and my clothes are all muddy. Good thing I kept my outfit from before." Harmony said to herself.

_She had gotten dressed in her outfit, and began walking around town with a cloak over her head, hoping to find someone she could trust._

"You've been gone for some time Harmony." A male voice behind her said

_Harmony turned around and her face brightened when she saw a man wearing black with a white mask._

"Phantom!" exclaimed Harmony

"Right here isn't safe. We'll talk back at one of the safe houses." Said Phantom

"Right." Said Harmony

_Back with the girls, they were trying to find Harmony, but with no avail, when Naomi and Mei-Xing found the portal Harmony created._

"Found her." Naomi and Mei-Xing said in unison

_Rene, Tina, and McKenna soon showed up._

"We're gonna have to block off this hall so no one can find the portal." Said Rene

"I can do that once we're in guardian form." Said Naomi

_Rene then pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar around her neck, and placed it in her hand._

"Guardians, unite." Said Rene

_All five of them were then surrounded by swirls of magic._

"Water!" Said McKenna

"Fire!" exclaimed Tina

"Earth!" exclaimed Naomi

"Air!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

"Quintessence!" exclaimed Rene

_Naomi clapped her hands together, and then bowed in front of the ground, then rose herself up with her hands over her head, creating a wall between the school and the hallway leading to the portal. All five of them soon headed into the portal and saw that they were on the outskirts of town._

"Right, now we need to find Harmony." Said Rene

"I'll handle that." Said Mei-Xing

_She listened to the air around her, and found her._

"Okay, she's due northwest from here, and she's with someone." Said Mei-Xing

"I guess we'll find out who it is." McKenna said as they began flying in the general direction

_Meanwhile, Harmony was catching up with Phantom about what was going on when she was on Earth._

"And we're managed to cut off food supplies to the castle, but only 30 percent. Cornelia's still getting food into the palace, but the lack of certain foods should drive her crazy." Said Phantom

"Amazing. Guess the resistance has their work cut out for them since I was wasn't around." Said Harmony

"Speaking of, how's life on Earth?" asked Phantom

"Nothing like life on Meridian. Apparently some humans like bathing themselves in substances that smell like fish called perfume, and humans think it's funny when a person they don't like gets splashed with water and the person didn't expect it." Said Harmony

"That sounds… incredible." Said Phantom

"Yeah, and it's nothing like Cornelia described. Earth's so beautiful. Cornelia described the planet as if it was a living hell. It's so different from Meridian. It's so bright and beautiful… you could actually call Earth a place to live. I could just stay there and forget about Meridian, but I can't, because Meridian needs to open their eyes. Cornelia… needs to open her eyes." Said Harmony

"Halt!" exclaimed a gruff voice

_They were suddenly surrounded by guards. Harmony and Phantom were then back-to-back against each other, when suddenly; one of the guards dropped his weapon and had a burn on his hand. The other guards looked confused, until they all began doing the same, and the girls landed in front of the guard's line of sight._

"After a burn, immediately apply cold water." McKenna said before she soaked the guards

_Naomi punched the ground and created a gap, causing the guards to fall through, albeit unharmed, but with a lot of bruises. Mei-Xing then blew the remaining ones into the gap, and Naomi closed the top, but made it a long way out through the bottom._

"Thanks." Said Harmony

"Anytime, so who's your friend?" asked Rene

"This is The Phantom, leader of the resistance." Said Harmony

"I thought you were the one in charge." Said Tina

"Nah. I'm second in command. So, why did you come after me?" asked Harmony

"We were worried about you, and friends look out for each other." Said Mei-Xing

"It doesn't matter where you're from, what you look like, or what you wear, it's what's inside that counts. Your heart is the only thing that is unique to you." Said Naomi

"Guys… thanks. I mean it." Said Harmony

"No prob, and is anyone else up for a shopping trip to Hale's?" asked McKenna

_They went through the portal, and soon ended up in Hale's, where the girls were waiting outside one of the fitting rooms. She soon came out, wearing a white shirt with a pink sailor collar with green strips, a matching skirt, white knee-high socks, and loafers._

"Nice outfit." Said Naomi

"Yeah, where she get it? Japanese School Girls-R-Us?" Stacy asked walking up to the group

"Not this again." Groaned Tina

_Stacy was about to say more, when Rene stepped in front of her._

"What is it now Parker? Oh, apologizing for earlier?" asked Stacy

"Nope. Not in your lifetime. You something Stacy, everyone looks up to you, seeing that you're the 'queen bee' and all, but you know what? You're not even close to that. You're a selfish, vain, egotistical, greedy, lying, cheating, coward. Real queen bees are better than you'll ever be in your life. You may have the clothes, you may have the money, but you're nothing." Said Rene

"Take that back!" Stacy screamed at the top of her lungs

_She tried to attack Rene, but was restrained by Naomi, followed with Stacy having a surprised look on her face, seeing that Naomi was stronger than she looked. Mall security soon arrived, kicking out a kicking and screaming Stacy out of the mall._

"Thanks for helping me out." Said Harmony

"I don't think she's gonna be bothering you for a while." Said McKenna

"Yeah, come on, let's head home. It's pizza night tonight. You guys wanna stay over?" asked Rene

"Sure!" Tina and Mei-Xing exclaimed in unison

"Uh, what's pizza?" asked Harmony

_All of the girls then had a look on their faces before they burst out laughing._

_Back in Meridian…_

_The Phantom was overlooking all of Meridian at the top of the highest mountain in the dimension._

"It won't be long now Meridian. Soon, you'll be free from Cornelia's reign, and I'll have the resistance to thank for it, and the knowledge that I know what needed to be done was done." Said Phantom

_He removed his mask, and revealed himself to be Prince Caleb!_

_**Plot twist, eh? More on that later. Please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Kan dao ni!**_


	6. A Guardian in the Wind

Chapter 5: A Guardian in the Wind

_**Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I know, what's with the late update? Well, I've been busy with a lot of stuff. You should be hearing more from me since I just graduated high school. Anyway, disclaimer time.**_

_**Disclaimer: Keybladeauraofpie and I do not own W.I.T.C.H. We only own our respective OC's.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_A new school day was beginning in Heatherfield, with the guardians and second-in-command of the resistance of Meridian talking in the courtyard about how Rene had handled Stacy, along with Naomi checking on her lab report which was due that very day and had made sure that there wasn't a single error in the charts, or graphs, or abstract._

"Still, you were amazing yesterday." Said Mei-Xing

"Thanks Mei-Xing. Did you finish your art project?" asked Rene

"Yeah, yesterday in class. I just hope it's still there." Said Mei-Xing

"What do you mean?" asked McKenna

"Every time we have an art project due, it somehow goes missing all the time when she leaves it at school. As a result, Mei-Xing has to stay after to make a new art project." Explained Tina

"So why not just take it home?" asked Naomi

"Because most of my art projects are paintings. I keep it there overnight to let it dry." Said Mei-Xing

"Ah. Anyways, I'll meet you in class. I'm going to ditch my stuff for gym in my locker." Said Naomi

"Where is your locker?" asked Rene

"Near the music classroom." Said Naomi

"Lucky!" Tina, Rene, and Mei-Xing exclaimed in unison

"Why?" asked Naomi

"Did you know that Principal… I mean Will is married?" asked Rene

"No, why?" asked Naomi

"Because her husband is the hot music teacher." Said Tina

"He's one lucky guy then. I'll see you in biology." Naomi said before walking away

_As Naomi was walking through the halls and towards her locker, she smelled some of Stacy's perfume in the area. She quickly ducked into a nearby bathroom and took her inhaler._

"Well, I just need to ditch my stuff, and get out." Said Naomi

_She had just approached her locker and entered in the combination and opened it, when she was bombarded with at least a gallon of Stacy's perfume before she started coughing and wheezing. She just passed out from asphyxiation as Matt Olsen, the music teacher at Sheffield, opened the door to his classroom to see what the sound was when he saw Naomi on the floor. He quickly moved her into the classroom and called 911._

"911, what's your emergency?" asked the operator

"I need to request an ambulance. I have a student at Sheffield Institute who's just passed out and is turning blue. I don't know what to do!" exclaimed Matt

_With the others…_

_Class was going to begin in two minutes, and the guardians were wondering where Naomi was._

"Where is she?" asked Harmony

"She's never late to class, not even fashionably late. Something must've happened." Said McKenna

_The sound of an ambulance filled the air as the students moved for the windows to see what was going on. They saw paramedics rush into the school, past the classroom, and then as soon as they had passed, they quickly came back to the ambulance, with the guardians and Harmony having shocked looks on their faces. It was Naomi being loaded into the back of the ambulance, and Matt was accompanying her to the hospital._

"What happened?" asked Rene

_The whole classroom was suddenly talking about what could've happened, with Stacy being surprisingly quiet, and Rene was the only one to notice._

"You know something, don't you?" Rene asked as she walked up to Stacy

"What are you talking about?" asked Stacy

"Will Stacy St. Beaumont please come to Principal Vandom's office? Again, will Stacy St. Beaumont come to Principal Vandom's office?" asked the voice on the intercom

"Later loser." Stacy said as she left the classroom

_Rene looked at the others, whom all had the exact same look on their faces, which said 'Let's follow her.' They followed her, and as she got into the Principal's Office, Harmony used her powers to help her hear what was going on inside._

"Okay, why are the cops here?" asked Stacy

"I'm very disappointed with you young lady." Said Will

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Stacy

_They heard a fist slam on a desk. Uh-oh, Will was steaming mad._

"Don't play innocent with me young lady! Mr. Olsen told me what had happened. Her locker had sprayed perfume on her, the same perfume that you wear, and the worst part of it all was that she nearly died today!" exclaimed Will

"Who?" asked Stacy

"Naomi Jones, the new transfer student. She's fine for the moment, but if it weren't for my husband, you know what kind of report I would be filling out right now instead of the ones I am filling out?!" exclaimed Will

"I have no idea." Stacy said in a calm demeanor

"In that case, I will tell you what I am filling out. The first report, assault charges. Congratulations Stacy, you have a criminal record." Said Will

"No, no, no, no, no. You… you can't be serious." Said Stacy

"I am, and the second, a suspension slip, starting from the end of school today, you will be suspended from school and all related activities until the next school year!" exclaimed Will

"What?! But what about homecoming? And cheerleading? And prom? I can't miss all of those!" Stacy exclaimed with panic in her voice

"I am the principal of this institution, and be grateful I am not expelling you. And you are barred from all future school activities until you hear from me, that includes cheerleading practice, homecoming dance, football games, and concerts." Said Will

"But you can't do this!" exclaimed Stacy

"As I said, be grateful I'm not signing you up for expulsion or having Officer Lair and Officer Williams arrest you." Said Will

"But…" started Stacy

"There is a price to being suspended young lady. Think of these two are your parole officers. You are to come nowhere near school grounds for the duration of your suspension, and all of your homework assignments will be e-mailed to you." Said Will

"This is outrageous! Wait until my father hears about this!" exclaimed Krystal

"He has heard about it. Prior to calling you here, I called both of your parents, and they are both disappointed in you. Stacy St. Beaumont, until further notice, consider yourself suspended from Sheffield Institute." Said Will

"Fine! Be that way!" exclaimed Stacy

"Let's go. You have to get through the rest of the school day first." Said a female voice

_The guardians quickly panicked, and hid in a nearby hallway, in the opposite direction of where Krystal was going. They saw the two officers, Officer Lair being a female in her late 50's and Officer Williams being in his early 30's. Officer Lair then saw them, and winked, much to their confusion. At that moment, Will stepped out of her office and saw the girls._

"You wanted to know what happened, didn't you?" asked Will

"Yeah. Is Naomi going to be okay?" asked Rene

"Yes. She will be. Thankfully, she had an inhaler on her, so the paramedics immediately figured she had an asthma attack, a very serious one at that. She's gonna be in the hospital for a while." Said Will

"And who was the officer? Was she a friend of yours or something?" asked Mei-Xing

"Officer? You mean Irma? She used to be the Water Guardian before you McKenna." Said Will

"Suddenly, I feel a sort of respect for police officers now." Said McKenna

_In the hospital…_

_Naomi was out like a light, with a respirator over her nose and mouth to help her breath with a female doctor checking her status._

"Well, her lungs seem to be back to normal, she's breathing normally again. But still, what is that smell? It smells like cheap kid perfume." The doctor said as she walked out of the room

_At that moment in Meridian, Cornelia saw a weak, unconscious Naomi on the respirator in the hospital._

"What are you doing Cornelia?" asked the queen

"Mom, look. That's the Guardian of the Earth, but look at her, so weak and frail. In her usual condition, for me to try and cast this spell on her would prove difficult, but in her condition now, it would be child's play." Said Cornelia

_She extended her hand, and wisps of light blue magic circled around her hand and moved to Naomi. They traveled through the seeing stone to the hospital, where the wisps circled around her and created a choker with a red stone around her neck. She quickly opened her eyes for a moment, but soon became distant, falling into a trance._

"Listen to my every command Guardian of the Earth, and you will be richly rewarded. Do you understand me?" asked Cornelia

"I understand." Naomi said in a monotone voice

"Good. The other guardians are not your friends. They are your enemies." Said Cornelia

"They are not my friends. They are my enemies." Naomi said in the same monotone voice

"I am your friend, your only friend." Said Cornelia

"You are my only friend." Said Naomi

"Now listen to me. I have a plan to get rid of the guardians, and you will help me. When the next portal opens, lure them to the dungeons of the palace, and there the Guardians will be done for, with you the very last one." Said Cornelia

"With all due respect Your Highness, the guardians are not stupid. They will not go to the dungeons without a reason." Said Naomi

"Hmm… good point. In that case, I'll find someone and put them into the dungeons, probably someone most likely to be working with the resistance. When I am in need of you again, I will activate the choker, and bring you into the state you are in now. Until then, your future actions will be influenced by me." Said Cornelia

"Yes, Your Highness." Said Naomi

_Cornelia waved her hand in front of the stone, cutting off the image, causing Naomi to fall unconscious once again._

_Back at Sheffield…_

_What had happened in the Principal's Office had gone through the school like wildfire, and it wasn't just the guardians who knew that Stacy was suspended from school. It was finally lunch time at Sheffield, and everyone was getting lunch when Stacy strode into the cafeteria acting like nothing had happened._

"Watch out, here comes Queen of the Perfume." Said one of the football players

"If we get her mad, she'll spray us like a skunk." Said one of his friends

_Stacy had gotten her lunch, and sat with the other cheerleaders. Once they noticed her, they quickly stopped talking. Stacy was confused until she saw that the Guardian's table had a lot more people around them instead of the cheerleader's table._

"Excuse me for a second girls." Said Stacy

_She walked over to the table to see what was going on, and saw that practically everyone was signing a 'Get Well Soon' card for Naomi._

"What's this then? Huh? A card? How lame." Said Stacy

_To her surprise, everyone who had either signed the card, or was about to glared at her._

"What?" asked Stacy

"Don't play dumb Stacy. We know what happened to Naomi." Said a Japanese-American girl

"Now who's sprouting rumors Setsuna Miki?" asked Stacy

"They're not rumors. I saw you. I saw you rig Naomi's locker to spray a gallon of your perfume at her when she opened it. You broke into it, and set it up, so when she'd open it, she'd pass out from the fumes." Said Ian

"That's low Stacy. And didn't you even notice that everyone suddenly got quiet when you arrived in the cafeteria?" asked Tina

"Uh, no. I tend to have that effect on everyone." Said Stacy

_She saw a couple of cute boys head her way, and she immediately flipped her hair, hoping to get their attention. She got their attention alright, but not in the way she wanted._

"Hey, it's the loser cheerleader." Said boy number one

"What are you doing here? At least everyone else here has a heart and is worried about a fellow classmate. Unless you're here to sign the card, in case you haven't noticed, no one likes you, and no one ever will, not after what happened." Said the second boy

_A traumatized Stacy ran out of the cafeteria in tears, and everyone began cheering that she was gone._

"Sorry, was that much?" asked the second boy

"As much as I like to say 'yes, it was,' she actually deserved it." Said Rene

"So, is she going to make a good recovery?" asked the first boy

"Yeah. She just had a severe asthma attack. She'll be up and running in no time." Said McKenna

"Awesome! Tell her that the whole school's rooting for her." The second boy said as he signed the card

"Don't worry. That's on the list." Said Mei-Xing

_In Meridian…_

_It was a calm day in the market, and it felt like nothing could go wrong, until Cornelia's guard showed up, and saw a girl with brown hair._

"Miss?" asked one of the guards

"Uh, may I help you?" asked the girl

"You are under arrest for suspicions of working with the resistance against your princess, Cornelia." The guard said while grabbing the girl

_The girl struggled against the guard's grip, but was unaware that a certain passling had seen the whole scene unfold. He sniffed the air and found a portal near the castle. He jumped through, and found himself in a closet._

"Let Blunk out! Let Blunk out!" exclaimed Blunk

_The closet door suddenly opened, and the passling fell out, and found himself in the hospital room with Naomi and the girls._

"Blunk, what are you doing here?!" exclaimed Harmony

"Bad news, very bad." Said Blunk

"What kind of bad are we talking about here?" asked Naomi

_Blunk looked at Naomi, and began to drool smelling Stacy's perfume._

"Pink girl smell nice." Said Blunk

"Okay, you are not going anywhere near me like that Blunk, not unless you want a bath." Said Naomi

_Blunk panicked and headed back over to Harmony._

"What's wrong?" asked Harmony

"Alyssa taken by guard. Cornelia catch her. Think she resistance! Help!" exclaimed Blunk

"Alyssa?! She's our communications expert!" Harmony exclaimed in shock

"Communications expert?" everyone asked in unison

"We're always worried if Cornelia manages to get our messages, so if she intercepts them, they'll look like gibberish to her. Alyssa was the one who came up with the code. If she forces her to tell her the code to our messages, then the resistance is done for!" exclaimed Harmony

"We have to help her!" exclaimed Tina

"I can't help right now. Until the guy says I can go, I'm stuck here in the hospital." Said Naomi

"We'll keep this portal open for you then. You'll be able to follow us into Meridian. Let's go." Said Tina

_As the girls closed the closet behind them, a doctor came into the room._

"How are we doing?" asked the male doctor

"Better than this morning." Said Naomi

"Well, your breathing seems to be back to normal, no lingering signs of an asthma attack. I'd say you're free to go. There won't be a bill." Said the doctor

"But, this morning, after I woke up, one of the nurses said there was going to be one." Said Naomi

"It was paid for by the St. Beaumont family. They rarely pay for treatment for a stranger. Consider yourself lucky. Mr. St. Beaumont seemed to be in a slightly bad mood when he paid for your treatment." The doctor said as he exited the room

_The moment he did, Naomi gripped her head in pain as the choker activated, and she opened her eyes, revealing to be distant._

"The guardians are on the move. Make sure you follow them to the castle dungeons. I'm counting on you." Said Cornelia

"Yes, Your Highness. I'll see to it." Naomi said in a monotone voice

_At that moment, Cornelia cut off the spell, and Naomi hid inside the bathroom to change clothes, when the replica Heart of Kandrakar began to act up._

"What's wrong with you?" wondered Naomi

_It fired a blast of green-colored energy at the choker, immediately destroying it. Naomi gripped her head in pain as the memories from her time under Cornelia's control came back to her._

"Oh no! The others are walking into a trap! I gotta get there fast! But how can I, unless you can give me wings or something." Naomi said to the replica Heart of Kandrakar

_The Heart flew out of the bathroom and floated near the closet where the portal was. Naomi looked around carefully and walked inside while closing the door, and entering through the portal to Meridian._

"Take me to the others, and please hurry. I don't want anything bad to happen to them." Said Naomi

_The replica Heart began flying towards the other guardians, and Naomi ran as fast as she could, worried for her friends._

_With the guardians…_

_They just snuck into the dungeons to find Harmony's friend, and came to the last cell in the dungeons, and found her._

"Alyssa!" exclaimed Harmony

"Harmony! Get me out of here!" exclaimed Alyssa

"Don't worry, I got you!" exclaimed Harmony

_She blasted the lock with her powers, and at that moment, guards filled the room._

"Oh no." said Mei-Xing

"We're trapped!" exclaimed McKenna

"Not quite. There's another way out. This way." Said Alyssa

_They ran through the tunnels and found themselves in some kind of arena, where some brute with a giant axe and more weapons appeared._

"I hope you like your gift Guardians of the Veil. Enjoy it, because it'll be the last one you ever receive." Said Cornelia

"How did she know we'd come here?!" exclaimed Tina

"Wait… the choker around Naomi's neck at the hospital! I've seen it around on some people in Meridian! That choker was formed by a spell Cornelia created. Naomi was being controlled!" exclaimed Harmony

"That's right. And now I can celebrate the end of the guardians." Said Cornelia

"That's what you think!" cried out a female voice

_Everyone searched for the sound of the voice when they saw Naomi swinging on a vine Tarzan style, catching the brute off guard, and shocking Cornelia._

"But… but how did you break free?!" exclaimed Cornelia

"No one uses me to get to my friends, and when someone does that, they're gonna wish they never met me." Said Naomi

"Guardians, Unite!" Rene exclaimed as she raised the Heart of Kandrakar in the air

_The familiar swirls of magic surrounded the girls, shocking Alyssa, as she saw the transformation._

"Water." Said McKenna

"Fire!" exclaimed Tina

"Earth!" exclaimed Naomi

"Air!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

"Quintessence." Said Rene

"Curse you guardians! Get them!" exclaimed Cornelia

"Anyone ever play Double Dutch?" asked Naomi

"Yeah." Rene, McKenna, Tina, and Mei-Xing said in unison

"What's Double Dutch?" asked Tina

"That's all I need to know. Earth!" exclaimed Naomi

_Some vines appeared, and it got the brute tangled. McKenna then created a water bubble around the brute and Mei-Xing froze it. They then used the ice ball as a bowling ball to get rid of the rest of the guards. When that was said and done, they regrouped at the resistance's hideout._

"Thanks for saving me guys. I don't know what would've happened if you didn't come along." Said Alyssa

"Probably the same thing that happened to me. If I didn't break free in time, I don't know what could've happened to you guys. I'm really sorry." Naomi said with a guilty look on her face

"It's okay. We forgive you. Besides, if it wasn't because of Stacy, you would've never have ended up in the hospital." Said McKenna

"That reminds me, something strange happened today. One of the doctors told me that Stacy's dad paid for the hospital bill. I wonder why." Said Naomi

"Well, let's just say that Stacy's got a criminal record now, and her mom and dad are furious! We won't be seeing her until after summer vacation!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

"Oh yeah, how did that art project go?" asked Naomi

"Well, I finally figured out how it's been disappearing when I'm not looking. Someone keeps painting the canvas over when I'm not looking with white paint, hiding my project." Said Mei-Xing

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Naomi

"I know, but I also know that I will find whoever keeps doing it somehow." Said Mei-Xing

"Besides, you helped us in the end. Cornelia may try to split us apart, but we've got a bond no one can break, not as Guardians of the Veil, but as friends." Rene said as she extended her hand in a palm down position

"Friends." Tina said as she placed her hand on top of Rene's

"Friends." Mei-Xing said as she mimicked Tina's actions

"Friends." McKenna said while mimicking Tina's and Mei-Xing's actions

_Naomi looked hesitantly at the hand pile that was forming before she smiled and said:_

"Friends."

_To their surprise, Harmony put her hand on top of Naomi's before saying_

"Friends."

_The Guardians and Resistance all began laughing at the actions the Guardians of the Veil and Harmony just took. At that moment, the Heart of Kandrakar and the replica Heart began to glow brighter, as if sensing the bond between the guardians and Harmony._

_**Done and done! Whew, this one took a while, but I finally finished! Please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Kan dao ni!**_


	7. Family Reunion

Chapter 6: Family Reunion

_**Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I know, I'm late with the updates? Well, the good news is, I'm going back to the U.S. soon, meaning my vacation in China is almost over! That's the good news, but now it's disclaimer time.**_

_**Disclaimer: Keybladeauraofpie and I do not own W.I.T.C.H. We only own our respective OC's.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_It was in the middle of the afternoon, and Rene was on her computer doing some homework when she got a request to video call with someone under the name Reiko Parker. Rene smiled as she accepted the request. A new window opened up, and a Japanese woman smiled as she saw Rene._

"Mom! How are you?" asked Rene

"Rene! It's been a while. I'm sorry I couldn't chat sooner, but I've been busy. Anything new happen in your life?" asked Rene's mother

"Well, we had three new students arrive in Sheffield." Said Rene

"Really?" asked Rene's mother

"Yeah. I can introduce you to two of them right now." Said Rene

"How?" asked Rene's mother

_Rene went into the other room and grabbed Naomi and McKenna, the former was dying her hair with pink hair dye, and did not look happy to be pulled away at that particular moment._

"Mom, this is McKenna." Rene said as she motioned one of her hands towards McKenna

"Hey." Said McKenna

"And this is Naomi, pardon the bad dye job." Rene said as she motioned her other hand to Naomi

"Hey! You'd get a bad dye job too if you were pulled away from the middle of working on your hair!" exclaimed Naomi

"Sorry. Just be grateful you're not in the hospital like what happened the other day." Said Rene

"Wait, what happened the other day?" asked Rene's mother

"Remember Stacy?" asked Rene

"The girl with attitude problems?" Rene's mom asked while having a grim face

"Same one. Naomi here, stood up to her for a friend of mine, she got pissed, and in retaliation, she rigged Naomi's locker to spray her smelly perfume on her, and she nearly died." Said Rene

"Yeah, from asphyxiation. I have asthma, and perfume plus asthma equals attack." Said Naomi

"Yikes. I'm glad you're okay." Said Rene's mother

"Yeah, me too. Thankfully Principal Vandom's husband was in the music room when I passed out from all of that fish-reeking perfume. Man, she's got bad taste. I can come up with one hundred air fresheners that smell better than her perfume." Said Naomi

_Surprisingly, that got Rene's mother to laugh as the others did._

"So, when will you be coming home?" asked Rene

"Not for a while. I'm really sorry Rene. I'll come home as soon as I can, but, until then, you know." Said Rene's mother

"Yeah, I understand. I have to go; I have some homework to finish. Bye mom." Rene said sadly

"Bye Rene." Said Rene's mom

_She hung up on the video call, leaving an air of silence around the three._

"All of a sudden, I feel like my hair is the last thing I want to take care of." Said Naomi

"Is that a good thing?" asked McKenna

"You two can take care of Naomi's hair. I really need to be alone." Said Rene

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Naomi

"Mom's always overseas working." Said Rene

"What about your dad?" asked McKenna

"He's not around, literally and figuratively. He died while fighting a fire." Said Rene

"He was a firefighter?! Cool." Said Naomi

"Can you two please leave my room?" asked Rene

"Uh, sure. Come on McKenna." Naomi said as she dragged McKenna out of the room

_Rene just played around with the locket around her neck, and opened it to reveal a photo of her father as tears began to fill her eyes. She quickly finished her homework before locking her door and crying herself to sleep._

_In Meridian…_

_Cornelia saw the whole thing from her room, and what a coincidence, a portal just opened in the palace courtyard._

"Cornelia? I swear, you're becoming obsessed with the guardians." Said her mother

"Mother, I'm not becoming obsessed. I have an idea that will work this time, and what better way than to get close to the guardian with the Heart of Kandrakar." Said Cornelia

"Cornelia, you must know that…" started her mother

"That the Heart of any world cannot be taken by force. It must be given up willingly. I know that! I'm planning on tricking her into giving it, and I think I'll just make an Altermere." Said Cornelia

"Cornelia, you need something that once belonged to the person, or at least something with their genetic code." Said Cornelia's mother

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry about it mom. I got this covered." Said Cornelia

_After Cornelia got what she needed, she used her magic, and a figure began to form._

_The next day in Heatherfield…_

_It was family day at Sheffield, and Rene looked really bummed that her parents weren't there, but Naomi and McKenna were more bummed, despite Naomi wearing a smile on her face, while Harmony was nowhere to be seen._

"Rene! Naomi! McKenna!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

_Mei-Xing was running towards the trio with her mother following her._

"Hey." Said Mei-Xing

"Oh, hey Mei-Xing." Said Rene

"Oh no. I know that look. Your mom or your monthly?" asked Mei-Xing

"Cut it out! It was mom. I video chatted with her last night. She's gonna be overseas for a while." Rene said sadly

"Man. That sucks. Sorry, I didn't know." Said Mei-Xing

"It's cool. Grandma's coming though, so it's not 100 percent bad." Said Rene

"By the way, has anyone seen Harmony?" asked McKenna

"She said she had some resistance stuff to take care of." Said Naomi

"So that's why we didn't see her this morning. I wonder what she could be taking care of." Said McKenna

_To answer that question, let's check in Meridian. Harmony was in the palace courtyard, thanks to a portal, and was trying to get some grain for the resistance, when she saw Cornelia doing something. When she finished, a man that looked like Rene's father, but had a crystal necklace around his neck appeared._

"Where am I?" asked the man

"Patience, Aldrin Parker." Said Cornelia

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" asked the man

"All in good time, but I need to ask you for a favor. Your daughter, Rene, had something of value that I need. I need you to retrieve it for me. You don't have a choice in the matter." Cornelia said as the crystal around his neck began to glow

_His eyes seemed to become distant while looking like he was aware of what he was doing at the same time. He immediately bowed to Cornelia._

"I will do as you wish, Princess." Said the man

_He then noticed Harmony, and threw a rock at the window, causing Harmony to slide down the rope, and into the courtyard where guards were waiting._

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? If it isn't the resistance's second-in-command. It must be faith that you were brought here. Take her to the dungeons!" exclaimed Cornelia

"You're gonna have to catch me first." Said Harmony

_Harmony then used a smoke bomb to blind the other guards and made a break for the portal, and successfully made it through while hiding from the Altermere of Rene's father._

"Rene… it's been so long since I last saw you. I'm happy to see you again." Rene's father said as he walked out of the alley towards the school

"That was close, but I gotta warn the girls." Said Harmony

_Another portal opened up behind her, and Blunk fell on top of her._

"Blunk, where did you come from?" Harmony asked annoyed

"From swamp. Helping papa and mama find things for trade." Said Blunk

"Listen, the girls are in trouble. I saw Cornelia make a copy of some man who seems to know Rene, meaning she's made an avatar of that guy, who's living, breathing, and has memories to use against her. If Cornelia gets the Heart of Kandrakar, we're all in trouble. Get to their school." Harmony said before bursting out of her hiding spot

"Where Harmony go?" asked Blunk

"To Taranee's house. I want to figure out who that man is before something bad happens. She gave me a spare key in case she wasn't around." Harmony said before she ran down the street.

_Before Blunk could move, he had to hide again from Prince Caleb, who just emerged from the portal._

"Looks like the coast is clear, for now. I better help out the girls." Caleb said before putting on a mask that was familiar to Blunk

_As Caleb walked out of the alley with his hood on, Blunk made a startling discovery._

"Prince Caleb is Phantom?!" exclaimed Blunk

_Back at the school…_

_Everyone was getting ready for the family day events that were to follow while the guardians were waiting in the parking lot of the school as Mei-Xing's parents and Tina's father were discussing something together while Taranee was with the girls._

"You five have grown as guardians." Said Taranee

"Yeah, so far, but so is Cornelia. Unless we find a way to stop her soon, I'm gonna be fearing the worst." Said Naomi

"Chill, her real crown is safe in my house, under lock and key, so even if she's got the ceremony, she doesn't have the crown." Said Mei-Xing

"Mei-Xing, this is serious. If Cornelia ever found out her crown was a fake, we'd all be in trouble. If the crown doesn't glow, it won't recognize her as the true leader of Meridian, plus if there's no magic in it, her mother will hunt you down like a dog to a piece of meat." Said Taranee

"Thanks for the creepy mental image. So didn't need that first thing in the morning." Said Naomi

"Well, look what we have here." Said a familiar voice

"Don't tell me that's who I think it is." Groaned Naomi

_Out of the corner of her eye, Stacy was standing behind them._

"Oy, Sissy, can't you take a hint. You're suspended, and you're not supposed to be on school grounds, so why the hell are you here?" asked Naomi

"It's Stacy! Not Sissy! Where did you get that loser name from?" asked Stacy

"Code Lyoko." Replied Naomi

_Stacy had a look of shock while the others began laughing._

"Losers." Said Stacy

"But seriously, back off. You're in this mess because you rigged my locker to spray your cheap kid perfume." Said Naomi

"It's not cheap! It's Chanel!" exclaimed Stacy

"Claire's sells better perfume than your stock." Naomi said with a bored look on her face

_That really ticked off Stacy and she marched up to Naomi while grabbing her denim jacket pocket, and pulling it towards herself, and got shocked by the replica Heart of Kandrakar reacting negatively to her. Stacy rubbed the hand she had used to grab her pocket._

"You're gonna wish someday that you never came to this town!" Stacy exclaimed before storming away

"That's it? I thought she was gonna murder me or something." Naomi said jokingly

_That caused the group to laugh. As for Harmony, she was searching in an old locked room in Taranee's house where she found a photo of Rene with her mom and dad, and there was another one that looked like a photo from a memorial._

"Aldrin Parker. A loyal friend, father, and hero. No way. This is Rene's father. Then that means… Cornelia's using him to get to the heart. Blunk, I hope you can get to them in time." Harmony said in worry

_As for him, he was too busy trailing Caleb in his phantom guise, whom was looking for Harmony to tell her about the Altermere when Blunk lost him._

"Great, Blunk lose prince. What Blunk supposed to do again? Oh right! Find girls." Blunk said he ran through the back alleys to the school

_The school day was finally over, and everyone and their parents were heading home, while Rene was cleaning up the school chemistry lab._

"You've grown so much Rene. When was the last time I saw you?" asked a voice familiar to Rene

_She turned around and saw her father._

"Dad?" asked Rene

"Yes, it's me." Said her father

"Oh, dad!" Rene exclaimed as she hugged him while crying tears of joy

"There now, please, don't be sad." Rene's father said as he was stroking her hair

_With the other girls, they were finishing up cleaning the cafeteria and the stage for the last performance of the night._

"Where's Rene?" asked Taranee

"She said she was cleaning up the chemistry lab. I'll go and check on her." Said Naomi

"We'll come with you." Said Tina

"Thanks you guys." Said Naomi

_Everyone, even Taranee began walking towards the chemistry lab, when they heard a scream, and Blunk had a bucket on his head, and crashed into a wall._

"Help! Can't see! Blunk blind!" exclaimed Blunk

_Naomi lifted the bucket off his head, and he saw everyone except for Rene._

"Leader girl in trouble! Cornelia send man after her! Look like this!" Blunk exclaimed with a drawing of Rene's father

"That's Aldrin." Taranee said in shock

"You know him?" everyone else asked

"Yes. He was Rene's father. He died years ago fighting a fire." Said Taranee

"Yeah. That fire… was how Rene and I met." Tina said uncomfortably

"Cornelia plan on man take heart from leader girl!" exclaimed Blunk

"Oh no! Not the Heart of Kandrakar!" exclaimed Taranee

"What can we do? We can't leave the school!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

_Just then, Naomi's replica heart began pulling her towards Rene._

"What's going on in your pocket?" asked Tina

"Can you keep a secret?" asked Naomi

"Sure!" Tina and Mei-Xing exclaimed in unison

"I've… had this for a while now." Naomi said while revealing her replica heart to the girl

"That looks like the Heart of Kandrakar!" exclaimed Tina

"It's not. It only looks like the Heart." Said Naomi

"Hmm… I have an idea. Naomi, say 'Spord Lartsa'." Said Taranee

"Uh, Spord Lartsa. What's that gonna do?" asked Naomi

_Astral Drops of the four girls appeared._

"These are copies of yourselves. All you need to do is say the words I just said, but well, in forwards." Said Taranee

"Thank you so much. Come on, let's save Rene." Tina said as they all ran off

"Except they don't know how to act like yourselves." Taranee said, despite being out of earshot

_With Rene…_

_She and her father were near the portals to Meridian._

"Dad, can I ask you something?" asked Rene

"Of course." Said Rene's father

"How did you die that day? The last day I saw you before today." Said Rene

_Rene's father didn't know how to answer the question, and that was when she noticed the crystal around his neck, but reflected in the crystal was Cornelia's face._

"You're not my dad!" exclaimed Rene

"Rene, what are you talking about?" asked Rene's father

"Don't lie to me! My real father died when I was a kid. He'd at least answer a question like that!" exclaimed Rene

_Cornelia became furious, and began changing her father's Altermere into a monster. The Altermere gripped his head in pain, and ran into the second portal. Rene closed the first one and ran after him, the same time the girls saw Rene jump into the second portal. They jumped after him, and found themselves in a swamp._

"Guardians, Unite!" exclaimed Rene

_Magic surrounded the girls as they began to transform._

"Water!" exclaimed McKenna

"Fire!" exclaimed Tina

"Earth!" exclaimed Naomi

"Air!" exclaimed Mei-Xing

"Quintessence." Said Rene

_All five girls just watched as the Altermere of Rene's father turned into some kind of lava monster._

"Don't worry Rene, we got your back." Said McKenna

"No, stay out of this. This is my fight." Said Rene

_As the now-lava monster and Rene began to fight, she began to dodge the attacks, but couldn't really do anything herself, until she was tossed into a really wet part of the swamp, giving her the idea to lead the monster to her end. When she finally did, the monster roared before weakly turning back into her father as the crystal was beginning to shatter._

"Dad!" exclaimed Rene

"I'm so sorry I hesitated back there. When I was created, I held back some of my memories so that woman couldn't use me against you. I'm proud of you Rene." Said her father

"Dad… will you please tell me now how you died?" asked Rene

"In a fire. I saved the life of a girl. Her name was Tina Burke. I managed to get her out of the building in time, but I didn't. The entrance collapsed on me. I tried to find another way out, but my oxygen tank ran out, and I started inhaling smoke. Another piece of the house collapsed onto me, and I couldn't move. I died in that burning building, but my last thoughts were about you Rene. I'm proud of my little girl. You've made your father proud." Said Rene's dad

_The crystal around his neck shattered, and he disappeared, but not before leaving a part of himself in Rene's locket, which seemed to shine brighter as she touched it before crying._

"Come on, let's go home." Said Tina

_They exited the alley, and closed the portal, and quickly headed back to the school, where Taranee was waiting near the doors while Naomi brought out her replica heart._

"Astral Drops." Naomi said as the Astral Drops disappeared back into the replica heart

"How did you do that?" asked Rene

"Long story, now get back inside. My excuse isn't going to work much longer." Taranee said while panicking

_They hurried inside, where Mei-Xing's parents and Tina's dad saw them._

"Ah, Tina. Feeling better?" asked her dad

"Uh, yeah." Said Tina

"Same here. Don't worry about us." Said Mei-Xing

_Rene then headed off to the flower shop and bought a bouquet of flowers and went to the cemetery. She placed it in front of her father's tombstone, and had a solemn look on her face. As the wind blew, she could've sworn she heard her father's voice saying 'I'm proud of you'. Smiling, Rene went back home, as the light of the setting sun shone on the bouquet of her father's favorite flowers, Japanese Honeysuckles._

_**Done and done! Whew, this one took me a while, but I'm finally finished! Please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Kan dao ni!**_


End file.
